Thursday, December 25, 2014

Hello sweet friends! I hope you had a wonderful holiday - however you celebrate. Christmas for us was an absolute blur of food and gifts and gifts and food, and very little sleep. Somewhere in the midst of all that chaos I actually had a client session as well. I am utterly exhausted. It was fun though! I hope you all had a wonderful week and that you were able to spend it with those you love.

Here's a peek at our Christmas morning. Sorry for the overshare. It was a great day and I got so much joy out of spending time with family. ;)

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

One of our favorite family holiday treats each year is visiting Winter Wonderland. When I was a child, a local family owned a nursery and put on an amazing Christmas display at the holidays. There were barns full of snow, glistening lights, and hundreds of moving figurines. There was also a concession stand, old fashioned candy shop and a holiday ornament store. It was truly magical. We went every year and then went out for cocoa and donuts. It is one of my favorite childhood memories.

When my oldest was born, we took him to see the display on the last year it was open. The family then retired, sold off the items and closed up shop. Fortunately, the city purchased some of them and now they are displayed in a local museum each year. The display is much, much smaller than it used to be (when I was 4 it seemed to stretch on for miles) but I still love that I can take my kids to enjoy a little of the magic I experienced as a child. Today I am sharing a few shots from our recent visit to Winter Wonderland.

What is your favorite holiday tradition?

May Santa Claus grant you all that you wish for this Christmas. Here's wishing you and all your loved ones a very Happy & Joyous Christmas.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Crikey! Can you believe it's less than a week away? I'm a little sad that just when I'm beginning to have a moment to enjoy the season, it's whizzing by faster then I can keep up. I STILL haven't gotten a single Christmas card out. Have nothing wrapped. And still have folks on my list that have no gifts. I did manage to bake some cookies this week though. Cookies make everything better, right?

I just want to take a moment to say how much I appreciate you all! Thank you for your visits, your comments, your shares. I truly enjoy them each week. I am sorry I have not had an opportunity to visit you all more often (or leave comments when I do visit). But I do appreciate you and love seeing your photos!! I wish you each the happiest of holidays, however you celebrate the season.

What have you been up to?

Thank you for stopping in! Please link up your posts below and have a wonderful weekend!

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Hey there friendly people - happy Friday to you! Anyone out there holiday ready?

I feel SO far behind.

This week I'm sharing my failed attempts at a Christmas card for our family. After weeks upon weeks of shooting, editing and delivering family portraits for many clients, I realized that I'm really down to the wire on putting together something for our own Christmas card this year. So, I took 20 minutes away from my work and begged the kids to put on some decent, plain (no crazy patterns or big logos) clothes, comb their hair and head to the back yard for a quick portrait.

Of course my pleas were met with obstinacy and whining. Just as I expected.

I don't even like posing them for photos. In fact, I'm not crazy about posed photos in general, so why on earth I would put them through this ridiculous exercise, is really the question. I suppose it was the time crunch and the (self) imposed pressure to spit out a perfect holiday greeting for friends, family, neighbors, clients...I am a photographer after all. Had I planned ahead or squeezed out more time in my already sardine-canned schedule I would have created something more meaningful, and definitely more natural.

But, as it was, I got what I deserved. (They are all in dire need of haircuts and no one has any semblance of coordinated clothing. Plus, my laziness in going to the back yard and trying to shoot between the swing set, shed and neighbor's boats....well, busy to the point of dizzy pretty much sums up the result.)

At least they were being themselves.

I mean the personalities pretty much shine through even despite my worst efforts.

All I can say is - we may go with a graphic card.
And, I love these nuts.

What have you been up to?

Thank you for stopping in! Please link up your posts below and have a wonderful weekend!

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Happy Friday friends and welcome to Friday Photo Journal! This week I have a random smattering of images to share. I am hurriedly trying to finish up my wedding galleries and get through the last of the holiday portrait rush. So, most of my time is dedicated to working. I am ready for a breather and a personal project to two to spark some inspiration. Sometimes you just need a different perspective, you know? I am not a fan of winter, but I have to say, the quieter pace will be a welcome change for a while. Here are the few shots I have taken lately just for fun:

What have you been up to?

Thank you for stopping in! Please link up your posts below and have a wonderful weekend!